Fans have been able to watch soap star Alison Sweeney on television for quite some time now. She became the host of reality television’s The Biggest Loser in 2007, and of course played Days of Our Lives’ (DOOL) Sami Brady for over two decades. After being gone from Salem for quite some time, Sweeney shocked fans when she recently announced she is set to return to the daytime drama world! She made the announcement on her Instagram account. Even though she’s been around for so long, there’s still so much more to know! Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Alison Sweeney.

10. She’s A Fan Of DOOL

It would be hard not to be considering she started (officially) on the show in 1993. After two decades, she’s clearly become quite attached to the role, the cast members, and the larger-than-life characters on the show. In an interview with US Weekly, Sweeney revealed that regardless of whether or not she was on Days, she’d still watch it. It’s been reported that before she entered the Sami role, Sweeney had been a fan of the soap.

9. Sweeney’s First Days Stint Wasn’t As Sami

A teenage Sami Brady was SORASed (Soap Opera Aging Syndrome) in 1993, and the land of Salem was forever changed. One thing DOOL fans may not be aware of is the fact that this wasn’t the first role Alison Sweeney played on the show. In fact, Sweeney made her official DOOL debut in 1987, playing the character Adrienne Johnson.

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8. She Paid Her Dues

Alison is undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful daytime actresses to grace the soap opera world in a long time. However, while she started on DOOL at the young age of 16, she’s still paid her acting dues along the way. Sweeney entered the land of show biz at the tender age of five, participating in a Kodak commercial. She would move on to do an episode of Tales from the Darkside, have a role on the show Family Man, and even participate in a Disney miniseries along with Barbara Eden called Brand New Life. After many years in the acting business, Sweeney got her big break in 1993 when she was cast as Sami Brady on DOOL!

7. Amazing Race Connection

While we all know Sweeney had a long stint on the reality television show The Biggest Loser, seems that there was a time she fancied being on another reality-based program. In a US Magazine article, Sweeney revealed that at one point in time she and her BFF sent in an audition tape to The Amazing Race. Sadly, she’s never been on the show, but if she was, she would surely knock the competition off its feet.

6. Most Of Her ‘Firsts’ Were Onscreen

In her book, All of the Days of My Life (So Far), Sweeney outlines how many of her firsts were done onscreen due to her budding Hollywood career. She was allowed to get her ears pierced earlier than normal due to an acting job. Sweeney would go on to relay the fact that her first dance and kiss were all done on television for the world to see.

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5. Sami Made Love Before She Did

As stated above, Sweeney’s first kiss took place on television … which makes it no surprise that a character she was playing would make love before she got to. After all, Sami Brady was busy causing chaos in Salem and trying to win Austin’s affections, while Sweeney was busy working on her career! Sweeney reveals in her memoir that the first time she acted like she was making love was when she was playing Sami on DOOL.

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4. Career Influences

Starting Days at the age of sixteen, Sweeney was surrounded with an incredible and supportive DOOL cast – some of the best of the best when it comes to daytime drama. As such, it is no surprise that Sweeney once listed onscreen dads and mom Wayne Northrop (ex-Roman Brady and Dr. Alex North), Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), and Drake Hogestyn (John Black) as career influences, saying she has “learned many lessons from them.”

3. Worst Part Of Her Job?

From 2007 to 2015, Sweeney was the host of The Biggest Loser, a primetime reality show that aired on NBC. While she clearly enjoyed the eight-year gig which afforded her many opportunities, there was one part about the show she liked the least. According to a US Magazine article, Sweeney listed the elimination room as a part of the hosting job she did not prefer.

2. Her Industry Crush Is …

Alison Sweeney has worked with a number of good-looking actors during her tenure at Days, so it is surprising that her industry crush is Mike Rowe, known for his work on CNN’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It and Discovery’s Dirty Jobs is the culprit. Wonder if Sami Brady would approve of Sweeney’s industry crush choice?

1. Movie Lover

Everyone has their favorite film, one that you could watch over and over again and still find new things embedded within scenes. In a Us Magazine article, Sweeney revealed two movies that are close to her heart. First, she admitted to owning the Dudley Moore film, Arthur, in every possible format. She also revealed in the article that she can recite every line throughout the movie, The Princess Bride.

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